All Your Blog Redesign Are Belong to Us
Hey guys.
So I’m in a bit of a quandary, and was wondering if you could help?
I’m about to update the look and feel of my blog, as Lisa from SceneStealer Graphics finalizes some design tweaks over at my development area. It’s been a long road for Lisa, as she’s had to work around some of the Headway theme’s quirks and programming.
But it’s almost ready to be switched on.
However…
I’m now toying with the idea of a more minimalist look here (sorry Lisa!). I’ve always liked the uncluttered feel of websites and blogs like Presentation Zen, and Ari Herzog’s recent minimalist redesign struck a chord with me.
I started looking for designs I liked, and came across this one (click on image to expand):
So, my quandary is this. Do I continue with the design as it currently is, with Lisa’s cool enhancements (and they are very cool!) or do I go with the minimalist look?
What’s your take? Share your thoughts below – after all, at the end of the day, you’re the guys who keep coming here to read. So the design needs to be as pleasant for you as possible.
Cheers!
Note: This blog no longer runs on the Headway framework. Instead, it’s a custom WordPress design by Lisa Kalandjian of SceneStealer Graphics.
I like the new look. You mentioned Headway and the problems were having, I just discovered Platform Pro u00e2u0080u0093http://www.pagelines.com/themes/platformpro -and thought Iu00e2u0080u0099d mention it to you since you we so helpful with BlogonCloud9. Platform Pro is like Headway but more sophisticated and elegant. It might offer you the look you want. Iu00e2u0080u0099m going with it myself. Thanks again, your were right they are very helpful.
Danny, a tough decision that you have. Personally I prefer a clean design but that is just my opinion. It is one reason I look at doing my own blog that I constantly change my mind. I have created a clean design that reflects who I am and that is the key for me.
Please remember content is King and that is the reason I keep coming back. It is because I enjoy your insights, sense of community and most of all your friendship. To me this is what matters. You do a good of all three of these.\
Robcairns Hi Rob,
Yep, that's a good clean look you have going on over there, mate. It's something I'll be keeping in mind for future iterations, but for now I'm looking forward to seeing Lisa's hard work over the last few 6 weeks or so come to fruition. :)
Danny,
It is always difficult to make these decisions because you can always, always finds some things that you "like" about about both choices.
Is there any way you can run both of them for a period of time? This way you can have a test of one against the other and then you can let the performance data tell you which design / layout is doing a better job of accomplishing your objectives.
If not, leave the decision the the designer who has already gone through the process of learning your goals and creating a design to accomplish them.
Jeremy
jeremyvictor I guess I could run one on a development site, Jeremey, though I think that'd be more work than it's worth. :)
LisaK has some great ideas on how a brand should come across on a blog (see her comment below) so really happy to have her looking after me. :)
I really enjoy your article Danny brown, and I think it's sweet that you will plug ariwriter.com
but can I say something....
some thing about your logo. It kinda resembles *ahem* something naughty.
JackiesJungle I don't see it?
Thanks for the plug -- though I think you meant to link to http://ariwriter.com/sharing-together/ which more accurately reflects why I shifted to the look that is there now.
I know you're very modest, but people will read your content regardless of look and layout. One thing to strongly consider is to back away from this livefyre commenting system. I hate it with a passion which is why I'm commenting here less (though continue to read via rss).
Ari Herzog I was trying to find that link but couldn't - thanks for the heads-up.
Unfortunately (?), I love @Livefyre, so it'll be staying on whatever the new design is. Of course, as you know, I never say never, but for now and the foreseeable future, it will be @Livefyre.
Ari Herzog Hey Ari, Jordan from Livefyre here. Since there's no one else I've met online or otherwise that feels the same way you do about our platform, I would really like to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and reasons for the hatred you have about what we're doing.
I promise that we listen to and consider all feedback. Probably best over email so we don't muck up DannyBrown 's comment stream: JordanK@Livefyre.com
jkretch Ari Herzog Feel free to muck away - I'm as curious too and always happy for a good discussion. Maybe it can be a way to test the live updates on a future post? :)
I think your content is good enough that either are a great choice. Why change a good thing? (But I do like the minimalist look too - so I'm no help and can fully understand your quandary :)
WendyBoyce Ha, now you see why I was frustrated :)
But decided to stay with Lisa's new look - it is very fetching :)
I love your site just the way it is - the colors are good I can find what I want...I have to agree with the majority here! ...oh and Danny - I too am a BIG fan of your "looking down" photo - that's where the content is! BTW - this is kind of a moot point for me because I think I respond more on Facebook when I repost from your blog. I rarely stop by - I know not a good thing and something I am fighting on my own blogs...
Robyn
aflyonthewall I'll let you off on the Facebook thing this time, miss... ;-)
(Although one of the new features of the @Livefyre comments system will be real-time social feed conversations, so Facebook comments should find their way and have the ability to be replied to).
I think the minimalist look has it's place but probably not too much in web design anymore because it's been done to death, and also for the simple reason that you have about 10 seconds to capture the interest of someone just surfing in. Present someone with a ton of white space and you're losing valuable seconds when there are so many other web sites with the same kind of feel and atmosphere....I'd say the aim instead is to give them balanced design which sets the tone of the content and at the same time communicates very quickly the story behind the person or business at hand. Your header is a crucial part of your blog and you know from the start I have encouraged you to keep the pic of you looking down instead of replacing it with one of you doing a cheesy grin straight at the audience, the type of which you can see everywhere! This picture of you sets the tone of the site, it says you are gracious, different, interesting. You're wearing a suit, which says you are a professional, you have your own logo and color branding, which gives you an additional recognizable identity cause you can never have enough, and behind you are subtle graphics that suggest connecting on a global scale. So you have sucessfully transmitted so much to your audience in just a few seconds before they even start reading your content....All we have left to do is keep reinforcing those themes throughout the rest of your blog design....Well that's the goal anyway :)
LisaK And this is EXACTLY why I love having you as my designer, miss - you hit the nail on the head perfectly with your initial overview, and continue to do so. :)
Danny, A couple of things you might think about
1) Moble readership - unless you are using a mobile-friendly plugin - having your content on the left, and social/wdget stuff on the right - to my understanding - works better for mobile
2) Is the minimalist design a headway skin, or a different theme altogether? and if it is another theme, what is the support structure for that theme? Will they update it when wordpress updates etc. Does it have a good SEO & clean code in the back end.
3) Also - with the minimalist theme, if I were new to your site, I am not sure what I would think on first arriving there - especially if I found a post through search - or through clicking a link on a social site - without knowing anything about danny brown - I might wonder what is this site all about? - your current header tagline makes it clear what your current site is about.
4) It is after all - your site - and you can change it now and again later - as you choose. I say try and balance what you want for your site, with what will serve your current audience, along with serving those unfamiliar with you yet.
It's a tall order, but we have confidence in you!
CathyWebSavvyPR Isn't that four things, you cheater you? ;-)
The minimalist look on the one above is a different theme, though I'm guessing I could replicate most, if not all, on Headway. Code's extremely clean and has been voted amongst the cleanest and most stable of WordPress designs.
I think that's the reason I'm sticking away from minimalist (at the minute). Lisa makes a similar point to you with regards definition and brand recognition,and obviously that's going to be key.
Thanks for some great feedback, miss, appreciated :)
I've always been a fan of a "minimal," streamlined site, too. I think you're currently layout is nice, and although I do like the screen shot of the one in your post, I think your layout at the moment is simple AND has some "pop" to it with the dashes of red. I'd say, just like DixieDynamite said, do what makes you feel good when you see it. But I'd keep something similar to what you have now, simple with splash of color to it. But that's just my humble opinion, I was never any good with feng shui or interior design.
JMattHicks I'm crap with Feng Shui, hence getting @LisaK involved for the redesign. :)
And I think you'll like Lisa's new design, going by the points in your comment, mate :)
DannyBrown JMattHicks Sounds great, we are ALL looking forward to seeing it!
I think you go with the look that makes YOU feel good when you see it. Just like you design your office space to inspire productivity. When you see that post on the page you need to FEEL that the page reflects the place that you post from - the inner space. We'll like it because we like you.
DixieDynamite Now that's a great take, miss :)
At our Bonsai office, that was they key part in design - we're going to be spending time there so it needs to be "us". It makes perfect sense to apply that to the blog as well - thank you :)
Danny I must say I like the design you have now, but if you must change it..it's your choice bro..but the other one does look pretty nice.
"TrafficColeman "Signing Off"
TrafficColeman Thanks sir. I think I'll be staying with Lisa and the new look coming from her uber-talented way soon :)
I greatly enjoy the current look/feel on this site (especially the nice large social media buttons, the consistent layout, etc.).
I vote NO on the enclosed graphic.
Barbara_Ling Thanks Barabara - getting feedback is important, and thanks for your take. :)
I like the white, but I'm with ginidietrich . There's a bit of Danny missing from the layout. Minimalism is great, but essence of the blogger shouldn't be sacrificed for it.
Sushi ginidietrich Thanks for the feedback, guys. Do you think it's because the header is missing and that's a large part of the first thing you see when you arrive at the blog?
DannyBrown Sushi I don't know. Someone said they like the big social media buttons you currently have. I agree.
ginidietrich Sushi Well I'll be staying with the design Lisa has under the hood over at the dev area, so all's good :)
While I am a lover of white space, I agree the approach seems like it's missing something and less Danny. Part of the reason I love your blog is because you experiment with cool new things. Keep Lisa going on the path she started!
ginidietrich And there was me thinking it was because it's your idea station... ;-)
DannyBrown Hence the word "part." I'd say the cool new stuff you do is 15% of why I read your blog. Religiously. Like I am an addict. But what @DixieDynamite said is RIGHT ON!
ginidietrich Ya, hence. ;-)
The problem with most blogs that attempt to go the minimalist route is that it ends up looking incomplete and bland. I don't like a lot of white space. It comes off as you didn't have the time to add customization to your site.
kmskala That's a good point, Kasey. Though would you agree with the opposite that too much customization can happen? What would be a happy medium for you?
You did the work with Lisa for a rason; you made choices based on that. Don't get cold feet. Go with what you've prepared.
bobledrew Hehe, I feel like I've just had the headmaster tick me off ;-)
Cheers Bob, I think you'll like what Lisa has up her sleeve.
DannyBrown And while yer at it write "I will not second-guess my decisions" 100 times.
bobledrew Yessir! :)
Hi, danny-
I'd probably make the Twitter/FB icons smaller and even pot down the saturation a bit. You might als.
genuinechris Is this a minimalist comment, Chris? ;-)
With the social icons, Lisa has something pretty cool for that - you might like :)
I'm all for minimalism and the use of white-space. However, looking at the enclosed image above, it just feels like something is missing. I'm a fan of the current design with the header you have now as opposed to the one above. But alas, that's just one man's opinion.
Perhaps you can add a little more white color to your current design whilst keeping the header design?
RicardoBueno Thanks Ricardo. That seems to be the common concensus, by the looks of it. So, I think if I do go with a more minimal feel, it'll be to the suggestions of whitening the current layout as opposed to losing altogether.
Cheers! :)
We really are here for the content (as antwizzel said!). I do like the current design and am excited to see the updated 'tweaks' should you go that route. compared to a lot of blogs, your current design IS minimalist! The one in the pic, to me, is devoid of personality - your current deisgn is clean, clear and conveys a a sense of your style... i like that.
kate Hey there Kate, thank you! :)
Glad you like the current design - think you'll love Lisa's enhancements :)
No way the picture you displayed is no where near as good as your current design. Your current design is out standing! What did you use to design it, headway?
_DaleOD_ Thank you. :)
Yep, I've been using Headway since July '09 - very flexible theme. The header is by Lisa (the designer working on my upcoming revamp) - if you like this current look, I think you'll love the imminent one.
Cheers! :)
